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Heat wrap or VHT ceramic paint for Borla Header

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11K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  insaneasylum 
#1 ·
I have just got myself a UEL Borla header and i am unsure if i need to wrap the thing with heat wrap.

I have already sprayed the whole thing with 3 coats of VHT header spray, should i invest in some header wrap as well?

I have done a lot of looking around and from what i understand the more heat you retain in the header the quicker the gases will evacuate the exahaust system and will create more power etc. Is this just for cars with a turbo or will NA cars benefit from heat wrap?

And lastly does anyone have any horror stories from not using any header wrap, like the header cracking or it melts stuff as it gets too hot?

Cheers
 
#2 ·
Borla headers rust like crazy, even in relatively dry climates like here in California. I think header wrap would accelerate that process quite a bit, so I'd probably go with the ceramic paint instead. As far as cracking... it's a Borla, so it's almost guaranteed to crack. You might find that you have to get it re-welded a few times before it's "broken in" to a point where it will hold up to the heat cycling.
 
#5 ·
Exhaust wrapping is used mostly to protect the surrounding area from the radiated heat, which can be pretty intense. This is the reason the stock exhaust has a heat shield.

I would never wrap any exhaust that isn't stainless steel, as the wrap will trap moisture & promote rusting. :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
 
#7 ·
I ceramic powder coated mine.

IMO - Powder coat > Wrap > VHT paint


The wrap will do the job in certain climates, some VHT isn't rated high enough and powder can be $$$. I paid almost the same price for powder as I did for the reproduction UEL. :icon_eek:

FWIW, the wrap isn't that cheap either and would have been extra work on my end.
 
#9 · (Edited)
New Header is great

I just left it with the VHT paint, it was a Borla ebay replica header anyways which from what i understand dont crack as easily as the real ones.

It was a pretty good fit as well, the only issue was that there was a 15mm gap between the Cat and the end of the manifold but wasnt hard to push the flanges together and bolt them up.

I used new Felpro gaskets and high temp Permatex copper gasket on top of them, the gaskets that came with the header were terrible i dont even know why they bother putting them in the box.

The OEM header was shockingly badly manufactured, where the two pipes come to one in the "Y" joint, one of the pipes was intersecting the other limiting it to 50% flow diameter. I'm going to post a picture soon to show just how bad the OEM one was, its super restrictive and i dread to think the amount of turbulence it caused.

As for the results i am very pleased with the performance gains, the low and mid range is much better than before, not by miles but noticeable and worth the investment.

I have a walker Stainless steel quietflow exhaust on the way, hopefully that helps some more as the rest of my exhaust system is stock and old as it all has 285000km on it. Im not going for noise by the way, i like it quiet but i just want some more performance ;)
 
#10 ·
the cracks are caused by and where?

Back in my hot rod days, I use to enlogate header mounting holes to allow some stretching.
also, I divided the flange to allow some expansion.

as for wrapping... I always wrap my exhaust with thermotec under the stock heatshield.
This lowers temp by a lot.
beware of the smoking and strange smells after installation
 
#11 ·
Its the gauge of the of the stainless steel that Borla use apparently, its much thinner than the ebay ones which makes it more prone to crack.

Lots of poeple on both this forum and the impreza RS25 forum have had problems with Borla headers cracking.

My forester also only cost me $900 so i dont want to pay too much for my exhaust system upgrades, the ebay header was a third of the price of Borla.
 
#12 · (Edited)
VHT "Ceramic" paint is crap - burns off immediately - even with good surface prep.
You'll have to take it to have it ceramic coated - spendy, but it will last a lot longer.

Exhaust wrap is for racing only - it will absorb moisture when cold and cause premature rust.
 
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